Kira’s fingernail pressed hard against Jaxon’s chest, the sharp edge digging into the faded fabric of his grey tracksuit jacket. Her grip didn’t waiver, her knuckles tight.
"Jonathan Vance doesn’t lose," she whispered, her voice low, raspy, and laced with a deadly seriousness that seemed to drop the temperature of the bleachers even further. "He intentionally sabotaged my hospital medical records after the injury. He turned a standard tear into a massive financial weapon, using the outstanding debt to lock me into a predatory talent contract. If I breach a single clause, I lose my scholarship, my career, and everything I’ve ever worked for. You’re playing with fire, new owner."
Jaxon didn’t back away an inch. He simply stood his ground, looking down at her with a calm, unbothered expression, his posture completely relaxed despite the threat.
Jonathan Vance.
Internally, Jaxon mentally chuckled, a wave of dry amusement settling into his chest as he stared at the panic in her eyes. He knew Jonathan intimately—far better than Kira could ever guess. In his original draft of The Golden Court, Garrison’s older brother was the calculating, corporate antagonist designed to manipulate regional sports boards, fix matches, and run these exact predatory talent schemes to exploit athletes.
How incredibly amusing, Jaxon thought, his mind completely detached and overflowing with a steady confidence. I wrote Jonathan’s entire personality from scratch on my laptop. He thinks he’s a criminal mastermind controlling the campus, but his little legal traps and debt documents are absolute jokes against a cosmic system card.
"Is that all?" Jaxon asked smoothly, his voice flat and entirely untroubled. "A fabricated medical debt and a few pages of standard corporate intimidation?"
Kira blinked, her legendary, sub-zero composure wavering for the first time since he had approached her. Her sharp gaze scanned his face, searching for any sign of fear or hesitation, but finding nothing but an unsettling, quiet authority.
"Did you even hear a word I just said?" Kira demanded, her jaw tightening as she stepped a fraction closer, her voice dropping to an intense whisper. "Jonathan isn’t just a college bully like Garrison. He will use every corporate resource, every crooked lawyer, and every dirty string his family owns to ruin your life by tomorrow morning."
"Let him try," Jaxon said. His tone remained perfectly level, dismissive of the entire Vance dynasty.
Before she could process the sheer lack of fear in his voice, Jaxon reached into his right pocket. With a fluid, unhurried motion, he pulled out his sleek black card, the heavy matte material catching the harsh fluorescent lights of the gym.
Swipe.
Without asking for permission, he reached forward and tapped the edge of the card cleanly against the glowing sensor of Kira’s digital wristband terminal.
Ping! Enjoying the story?
The interface hummed instantly, a series of rapid green code lines scrolling across the small screen on her wrist.
[Target Identified: Kira Thorne]
[Clearing Fabricated Medical Debt: $100,000.00...]
[Initiating System Override: Executing Complete Contract Buyout...]
[Transaction Successful! Legal Bondage Terminated!]
A bright green confirmation icon flashed brilliantly across Kira’s wristband screen, instantly updating her legal status on the university network and sending an immediate cancellation notice to the Vance Sports Group servers.
Bzzzzt.
Neon-blue screens exploded across Jaxon’s vision, flashing rapidly, completely hidden from the girl standing before him.
[10x Cashback Activated!]
[$1,000,000.00 Transferred to Your Personal System Account!]
[Target Kira Thorne’s Affection: 10% ? 45% (Deep Psychological Shock & Devotion)]
[The Constellation ’Goddess of Wealth’ is throwing digital confetti and cheering wildly!]
[Current System Wallet Balance: $21,055,000.00]
Jaxon watched her closely. Kira froze entirely, her body stiffening as the terminal on her wrist let out a final, clear chime indicating a perfect zero balance. She looked down at the glowing green notification, her breath hitching, then slowly tilted her head back up to look at Jaxon’s steady face. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Her legendary, unapproachable "Ice Queen" armor completely shattered within a single second. The cold, sharp lines of her pale features melted into an expression of wide-eyed, breathless astonishment. Her hyper-voluptuous chest heaved sharply against the straining fabric of her tight white compression top, her full lips parting in utter disbelief as she tried and failed to find her voice.
"My... my debt..." Kira stammered, her voice a trembling, vulnerable whisper that vibrated between them in the empty space. "My contract... the legal freeze on my career... it’s completely cleared? Just like that?"
"You’re not Jonathan’s puppet anymore," Jaxon said softly, his voice low and commanding as he took a deliberate step forward, entering her personal space until he could feel the radiating heat of her shocked posture. "You don’t answer to the Vance family. You play for my stadium now. Remember that."
Kira clutched her chest with her left hand, her long, manicured fingers pressing hard against her ribs as her heart hammered wildly. She stared up at him, her dark eyes wide and completely undone, looking at the former assistant manager as if he had just casually rewritten reality itself on a mere whim.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, heavy, aggressive footsteps echoed loudly across the hardwood floor below, the sheer force of the impact rattling the lower metal structures of the bleachers.
"Found you, you broke piece of trash!"
Garrison’s enraged roar shattered the silence of the gymnasium, echoing violently off the concrete walls.
Jaxon turned his head casually, his expression entirely detached as he looked down toward the court floor.
Garrison was marching heavily down the baseline, a blood-stained tissue jammed tightly into his left nostril from his earlier crash into the laundry bin. His expensive varsity jacket was disheveled, and his eyes were completely bloodshot with humiliation. Standing right behind him were three massive, towering varsity heavyweights—each well over six-foot-eight, built like solid concrete walls with broad shoulders, actively cracking their knuckles and flexing their arms with menacing sneers.
"You think buying the building means you own the players, Jax?!" Garrison spat, wiping a trace of fresh blood from his lip as he glared up at the top bleachers. "You’re nothing but a lowly extra who got lucky. Boys, drag him down from those stairs right now and break his fucking legs! Let’s see how much his black card helps him when he’s in a wheelchair!"